Bobby Rydell, the teen heartthrob of the 1960s who starred in the musical comedy “Bye Bye Birdie” in 1963, has died. He was 79 years old at the time.

According to Variety, pneumonia was the cause of death. He died just weeks before his 80th birthday on April 26.

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Robert Louis Ridarelli was known for hip-swinging rock & roll classics like “Volare” and “Wild One,” as well as starring alongside Ann-Margret, Dick Van Dyke, and Janet Leigh in the Oscar-nominated “Bye Bye Birdie.”

On Tuesday, CBS3’s Ukee Washington in Philadelphia posted the news on social media. “A Philly Music Legend … has passed on. Sending prayers of comfort, strength and love to the family and fans of ⁦Bobby Rydell,” he posted on Twitter.

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 Several streets in Philadelphia and Wildwood are now named after the hometown hero. He was said to have grown up in the same areas as Frankie Avalon and Fabian, two other famous singers of the time.

In a 2016 interview, he described “Wildwood Day’s” as “the national anthem of the [New Jersey] Shore,” calling it “the perfect encapsulation of his own life.” However, he said that “Volare” is “my walk-in and walk-off music” for the majority of his fans.

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He also shot down claims that he was a rocker from his generation.

In the same interview, Rydell stated, “I was not really a rock-and-roll singer.” “That’s what you had to do to make it. I’m an American Songbook guy.”

He spent much of his career touring with fellow Philadelphian teen idols Frankie Avalon and Fabian as part of The Golden Boys stage production, selling more than 25 million records.

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Paul McCartney reportedly credited Rydell’s “Swinging School” as the inspiration for the Beatles’ “She Loves You,” specifically the lyric “yeah yeah yeah,” which Rydell had used in the 1960 song “Swingin’ School.”

When his memoir, “Bobby Rydell: Teen Idol On The Rocks: A Tale of Second Chances,” was released in 2016, he told an interviewer that performing was in his blood since he was a child.

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Rydell, who appeared on variety shows presented by Red Skelton, George Burns, Jack Benny, and Danny Thomas, remarked, “It’s been my life since like 7 years old.” “I can’t complain at all about my career. You know, it’s had its ups and downs, its peaks and valleys, so on, so forth. But I’ve survived through all of that, and I’m continuing to do what I really enjoy doing.”

He had a double organ transplant in 2012 to replace his liver and kidney and was back on stage in six months.